December 15, 2008

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (Dec. 15, 2008) — The Carnegie Mellon University Solar Decathlon team recently won the 2008 Environmental Protections Agency’s (EPA) Lifecycle Building Challenge Award in the “Student-Built” category. Their prize-winning entry, TriPod, is a prefabricated house alternative outfitted with Whirlpool ENERGY STAR(R) qualified appliances. The award recognizes building design and innovation that minimizes waste, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while reusing local building materials and promoting adaptability in design.

The ‘zero-energy house’ uses passive solar conditioning, super-insulated walls and windows, daylighting and Whirlpool and KitchenAid brand energy-efficient appliances. TriPod, which also won the Outstanding Achievement Award: Best Greenhouse Gas Reduction Design, reduces the average electricity consumption by 75 to 90 percent, compared to that of a standard-built house of equal size. TriPod’s mechanical “core” manages multiple “pods” used for living cooking and sleeping spaces. As a result of this modular design, homeowners can now add or subtract pods to meet individual needs. In addition to energy savings, a prefabricated house has only minimal leakage and causes less damage to the house’s physical site.

“The EPA’s Lifecycle Building Challenge competition recognizes innovative green building and energy-efficient ways of reducing the building industry’s carbon footprint,” said Brian Kish, student construction manager of TriPod. “Whirlpool’s energy-efficient appliances were essential in meeting the goal of reducing energy consumption, a key component of the building competition. As a young architect, it’s exciting to partner with an industry leader like Whirlpool Corporation to bring sustainability to the forefront of the building industry.”

In October 2007, as part of its ongoing commitment to the development of energy- and water-efficient homes, Whirlpool Corporation contributed its KitchenAid, Maytag and Whirlpool brand appliances to four additional university teams competing in the Solar Decathlon: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Colorado at Boulder and University of Cincinnati. The Solar Decathlon is an international collegiate competition where architecture and engineering student teams compete to design, build and operate highly energy-efficient, completely solar-powered houses that incorporate building-integrated photovoltaics.

For information on Whirlpool Corporation and its sustainable offerings for builders, visit insideadvantage.com/sustainable or call 1-800-253-3977.

Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of more than $19 billion, more than 73,000 employees, and 69 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world. For more information on Whirlpool Corporation and its offerings for building professionals, please visit insideadvantage.com or call 1-800-253-3977.